Chapter 28: I Mean It
Before Cassie could even blink, there were two gunshot blasts and Renji and his accomplice fell to the ground. Her widened eyes followed the source of the gunshots; a wounded, but focused and positioned Brian with a small pistol in his hand. The man who had shuffled off into another room met the same fate when he opened the door, as Brian placed a bullet right between his eyes.
Cassie's panting was ragged as Brian approached her to undo her restraints. "Are you okay, Cassie?"
"Holy shit. H-holy shit. Thank you. Thank you. Holy shit," she managed, and an overwhelming wave of relief and shock enveloped her. She began to hyperventilate, unable to process what had just happened. She tried to start from the beginning as Brian helped her up.
Han's apartment. G-gunshots everywhere.
They snatched me. Over money. Money from Han.
She glanced over to the three lifeless bodies, sprawled across the room. Small puddles of blood were beginning to form, staining the white, peppered carpet underneath.
Fucking dead. They're fucking dead. We a-almost f-fucking died.
Her eyes begin to water as the carnage replayed in her head on an endless loop.
Brian gripped her shoulders and looked into her frantic eyes. "We need to get the fuck out of here. You hear me, Cassie? We've got to move. C'mon!" He guided her out of the room, and her legs felt like jelly as she followed him.
"She's not badly hurt. I think she's just in shock."
Han wished that Brian's words could alleviate the guilt that he felt in that moment. He couldn't imagine the immense fear that Cassie must have felt, knowing that her life wasn't in her own hands during the abduction. He wanted nothing more than to embrace her and reassure her that she would always be protected. But that wasn't reality, and there was only so much he could do from a hotel room halfway across the world.
"Let me talk to her." Han raised a shaky hand to light a cigarette - the first one he had in years. The mixture of anxiety and rage that he felt was unbearable. He needed to hear her voice and tell her that he would be there soon.
There was a pause on the other end of the phone, until Brian finally sighed. "I asked. She doesn't want to talk, Han. She's shaken up. I can't fucking believe I had to shoot 'em all in front of her."
Han just quietly smoked, listening intently as Brian continued.
"Dom and the others will meet us here soon. We took a train to Kyoto. I made sure nobody followed us. I already called Sean and her brother."
Han stood up and approached the large glass window of his room, overlooking the bright city lights of downtown LAX. "So everybody knows to stay the fuck away from the shop and my apartment, right?"
"Yeah, Neela, Toast, everybody is staying put. Nobody else is getting touched, I promise you."
Han took one final drag of his cigarette. "I'll land tomorrow night," he mumbled, before resting his forehead against the cool glass.
"I want to be the one who puts the bullet in his fucking head."
Author's Note: Wow! I have random motivation to write half a chapter after 9 years of abandonment. I know I mentioned in my remake (i.e. Pursuits of Clarity) that I would discontinue this story b/c I hated how it turned out, and that the remake would replace it. However, this story was a massive milestone in both my teenage and adult life (I never stick to things EVER, and this was the longest commitment), so I said, "hey! I feel like continuing that kidnapping plot in CrazyUnexpectedMine". My moods change like the seasons, and it caught wind with this story. I don't want to make any promises on being consistent with pushing out chapters, since I have many real-life responsibilities, but I have some renewed interest in using this as a vessel for improving my writing. If time permits, I will probably revise whichever chapters need it, without changing too much of the content.
Thank you to everyone who has read this story, liked it, criticized it, hated it, favorited it – all of it. Thank you so much! All your feedback has been helpful and will continue to be helpful in my growth as a writer. I'm sure many have left this story, but if you are still here, thank you for reading and I appreciate all of you.
Oh, and by the way, the chapter is named after G-Eazy's song "I Mean It", which I felt fits the mood. Much love!